How good are the Crusaders? 40-20 win over the Canes at Jade Stadium. It would have been a top night to be sitting in the stands :) The Canterbury lads scored 6 tries to Wellington's two, in a game that earned the Crusaders the points that they were seeking for a home final down the track. Justin Marshall had a blinder, and it was good to see McCaw come on in the second half - I can still feel the pain from that Bulls' forward head clash a few rounds ago.

The Waratahs got up 25-20 over the Blues (I hope you all saw my tip for this game below :)... but... the Tahs needed to score a bonus point tonight to secure a home grand final - which is putting the cart before the horse I know- but still!! The Crusaders are now top of the table after the 12 rounds - dammit !!:) (Sheesh they're good!) Still, the Tahs had their chances to pick up a bonus point - and squandered them. There were some very strange things going on with the Tahs' play at times... weird. Makes me wonder if they're going to put the hoodoo on themselves yet again this year - shut the game down guys!

It will be interesting to see how the other teams fair tomorrow - crunch time!!

Week 12!! Wahhhhhh!! Oh well... here's my tips for the last round of Super 12 2005

Tonight

Crusaders vs Hurricanes: live on Foxsports at 5.30pm. I have to tip the Crusaders at home. They're going to be far too good for the Canes I reckon - so I'll go them by 8

Waratahs vs Blues: live on Foxsports at 7.30pm. The Blues have been very patchy this Super 12, and the Waratahs will be very keen to finish on top of the ladder. I'm going to tip the Tahs by 5

Tomorrow

Chiefs vs Highlanders: live on Foxsports at 5.30pm. The Highlanders will want to have a win this week and grab as many points as they can so that they can stay in contention for the Super 12 playoffs. The Chiefs, well.... I don't think they can do it against the Dunedin dwellers once they've put their mind to it, so I'm tipping the Highlanders by 4

Reds vs Brumbies: live on Foxsports at 7.30pm Chris Latham is out for the Reds - he's still recovering from that thump to his head he copped last week, but the Brumbies have hardly been playing scintillating rugby. The Reds are at Suncorp stadium not Ballymore.... this is a toughie to call. I think I have to tip the Brumbies though - by 3

Bulls vs Stormers: Live on Foxsports 10.57pm Well the Bulls have been on fire... The Stormers have not! I'm tipping the Bulls - by 3, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for them :)

Sunday:

Cats vs Sharks: live on Foxsports 12.55am I don't think I'll stay up to watch this one... the Sharks have had a shocker of a season, the Cats haven't had much better. I'm going to tip the Cats though - by 2

There ya go! Have a great weekend of rugby :)

Hey - I just read Hansie's tips.... he's referred to my team as "the hopeless Reds" Sadly I can't seem to think of anything to say to the contrary..... wish I could...

With just one round to go, Super 12 'psych out' games are still going on. This week we have David Nucifora from the Blues claiming that the Waratahs have "enjoyed unfair latitude at the crucial breakdown area." You have to at least give him some points for originality in stirring :) Yes, the Tahs do contest the breakdown and will swipe the ball from the opposition if they let them. Isn't that the idea though? Maybe my copy of the rule book is missing a few pages.... either way, I doubt Tappe Henning will be too worried when he refs the Tahs vs Blues game tomorrow night.

Speaking of the Tahs/Blues match - Brendan Cannon has been dumped as Tah's hooker for the game. His spot is taken by Adam Freier who coach McKenzie believes will be more value against the Blues as he's quicker around the paddock. Maybe. I've always had a soft spot for Cannon though, I'd always pick him over Jeremy Paul for the Wallabies.

Going... going..... gone? Reds Junior Pelesasa is apparently joining the list of players recruited for the Force next season. Good luck! Pelesasa's spot this week against the Brumbies will be taken by Lloyd Johansson who turned 20 just last week. Big boy with a big future!

New Zealand is putting in a bid to host RWC 2011. South Africa and Japan are also very keen to host the world cup in that year. It seems that NZ's hurdles to overcome include a $130m upgrade to Eden Park in Auckland so that it can seat a lot more people, and we probably all remember what happened RWC 2003 when NZ was to co-host with Australia but lost out because they couldn't provide 'clean' stadiums - which was part of the deal. I must say, I support the Kiwi bid for 2011 - much closer and cheaper for me to get to :-) (selfish)

I'll get Hansie's tips for Round 12 up shortly!

Good morning :)

Hansie's take on Round 11 is up. Have a read of Hansie's comments on rugby tours! I am inclined to agree with Hansie in that there aren't enough touring sides internationally, and sure it would be great to see more quality rugby games being taken to the people. But, yeah... the game is professional now and there's big dollars involved in just about everything related to the game and the people paying want to see returns on their investments. I don't think the clock can be turned back....

Norm Maxwell has got himself in a bit of strife. He's to appear in court later in the week on assault and threatening behaviour charges. He allegedly barged a bar doorman in Dunedin after he was asked to leave... at 4.45am. Uh.. yep. Who wouldn't be tired and emotional at that hour of the morning? Cut the guy some slack!

The Force have signed car beater and Waratah Cameron Shepherd. That's a nice pick up!

Did you know? Chris Latham was a Tah for 2 years :-)

A pile of people scored 5 points in 'Tip the Winners' for round 11 - I can't believe nobody picked the draw between the Brumbies and Chiefs.. heh. So.... in accordance with the rules I went to the 'Tip the Scores' leaderboard for round 11, and Jason Cassin becomes our winner for Round 11. Congratz Jason!

There's actually 3 leaderboards inside the competition. One is for 'winners', one if for 'scores' and one is for 'margins'.

Competition winners will be based on... the 'Tip the Winners' leaderboard.

In the event of a TIE - (which can't happen because I don't have enough prizes.. heh.. ) then to break
the tie the leaderboard 'Tip the Scores' will be used, and if there's STILL a tie after that, the 'Tip the
Margins' leaderboard will be used. If there's still a tie after all that - I give up and we'll do what they
do in a rugby world cup final when they've exhausted their avenues... toss a coin :)

I've updated the Super 12 ladder.

Good morning! I trust you were all good to the 'mothers' in your life yesterday!

There were a few hoodoos broken in Round 11 of Super 12 2005. Tana Umaga led the Hurricanes to victory over the Blues 22-10 on Friday. It was a fitting result for Umaga's 100th Super 12 game, but the game was hardly exciting... the Blues made a swag of handling errors. The Canes can secure a semi-final place provided the Highlanders or the Bulls lose next week in the final round.

Later on Friday night, the Waratahs broke their hoodoo over the Reds in Sydney with a 27-8 win, in a game that was tight and tough for the Reds. Chris Latham suffered concussion and was stretchered from the field, and Red's #8 John Roe copped a mighty hit from Phil Waugh. It was also a good night for Tah Peter Hewat who must have savoured the victory against the team that rejected him.

The Crusaders vs Highlanders game in Dunedin was the match of the round with the Canterbury boys emerging victorious 27-13. The half time score saw the Crusaders trailing 6-7 but they lifted and bunged on three tries in the second half. While the Highlanders went down, the end score doesn't reflect either the closeness of the game or the quality of rugby played. It's been some time since we've seen Super 12 rugby of this standard. It really brought home just how much work 'some' of the teams need to do! Great game!

Owen 'Melons' Finegan played his last game for the Brumbies in Canberra, and while he scored a try and the Brumbies looked poised to win as they led 28-14 with 20 mins to go on the clock, the fairytale ending was not to be for the 'serial pest' that we've come to admire. The Chiefs fought back to draw the game 28 a piece. The Brumbies only have themselves to blame - they should have locked the game away. Good luck playing in Pommy land Melons!

The Sharks gave the Bulls a run for their money in the first half of their clash this round as they came out attacking against the steamrolling Bulls team. At half time the Sharks led 17-10. The scoreline, and the knowledge that their semi-final chances were diminishing before their eyes must have shocked the Bulls into action. They rallied and lifted to take the game 23-17. Tries late in the match from Matfield and Botha helped their cause.

The Cats dominated the first half in their game against the Stormers in South Africa to be leading 13-0 at the 40 minutes mark, but the half time break saw the Stormers get their acts together and come back to score three tries in the second half and take the game 25-20. The home win for the Stormers is all a little bit too late for their Super 12 2005 chances, and the loss saw the Cats again on the sad end of the scoreboard - they have lost their last 10 matches straight :(

More later!